Mental health courts aim to reduce prison, jail population

LANSING - One solution to overcrowding in jails and prisons is to simply pay more attention to the criminal, experts say - especially those with psychological or psychiatric problems.

"The idea behind mental health courts is that if you pay more attention to the person - what their needs are and what might be some of the causes for whatever it is that got them there - there is a greater likelihood of success, less recidivism and better outcomes for that person," said Doris Gellert, director of the Bureau of Administration in the mental health section of the Department of Community Health (DCH).

Richard Woods, trial court services deputy officer for the State Court Administrative Office, said that Corrections Department statistics and research show that the number of prisoners diagnosed with mental illness has steadily increased over the past decade as state psychiatric institutions closed.

A mental health court is different from a typical criminal court in that it provides clinical services for defendants. That includes arranging psychiatric care, helping patients stay on track with medications and ultimately helping them figure out how to identify their illness and improve the chances they'll avoid jail or prison.

Last year, the state appropriated money for nine pilot mental health courts in Livingston, Oakland, Grand Traverse, Genesee, Berrien, St. Clair, Otsego, Wayne and Jackson counties, according to Gellert.

Marcia McBrien, public information officer for the Supreme Court, said programs in Genesee, St. Clair, Otsego, Livingston and Jackson counties are already in operation, with Genesee, the oldest, opening in October 2007.

McBrien said the Genesee County mental health court currently has 69 participants. The other pilot courts have not enrolled any participants yet, but are expected to do so within several weeks, she said.

However, funding is a concern in moving forward with that response to criminal activity.

Gellert said the $1.2 million pilot program divides responsibility between the DCH for treatment costs and the State Court Administrative Office for the court operation costs.

Woods said the current pilot courts are funded through this year's budget, but the governor's recommended executive budget for next year removes funding from the DCH and courts budget.

"However, the judiciary will be seeking to fully fund mental health court programs for 2010 through the use of stimulus funds or redirecting other funds," he said.

Gellert said to eligible, defendants must meet two basic criteria: (1) that they have a mental illness that may have contributed to committing a crime and (2) their offense was non-violent.

Each court will have its own definitions of the criteria, she said.

Mark Reinstein, president of the Mental Health Association based in Southfield, said that most mental health programs will set up a screening process to look out for previous mental health problems or signs of mental illness.

"There's room for all different people who can bring possible problems to the court's attention for the program," he said.

District Court Judge Dawnn Gruenburg of Warren, said, "There is no one mental health court - some courts handle the person before they're charged, some oversee treatment programs and some work like probation."

Gruenburg is chair of Michigan Partners in Crime, a group that advocates examining how the criminal justice system deals with the mentally ill. She said its members include both police and judges.

However, some officials say mental health courts won't be enough to deal with such problems.

For example, the chief probate judge in Wayne County, Milton Mack Jr., said, "The problem is that we do not treat mental illness timely. When a police officer encounters someone behaving badly due to mental illness the officer has two choices: take the person to a psychiatric intervention center or jail."

Mack was appointed to the state Mental Health Commission in 2003.
"Because the standard for intervention in the case of mental illness is so high, the default choice is usually jail. If we intervened timely, we could act before the behavior occurs that leads to the encounter with the criminal justice system," he said.

"If we treated smallpox the way we treat mental illness, we would stop vaccinating and instead build smallpox treatment centers across Michigan," he said.